Organigram settles class action lawsuit alleging pesticide poisoning

Canada established a formal medicinal cannabis program in late 2013. Health Canada eventually ordered testing after incidents involving banned pesticides. Despite this, an incident occurred in 2016 in which unauthorized sprays were used on cannabis produced by Organigram. Several patients reported illnesses after using OGI’s tainted product. This led to a class action lawsuit against Organigram, which was approved by the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in 2019. This month, in mid-2022, Organigram agreed to settle the lawsuit with refunds and attorneys’ fees.

Pesticides and Lawsuits

Third-party testing found that cannabis produced by the New Brunswick grower contained:

1. bifenazate
2. malathion
3. Myclobutanil

Several batches of type 2 and type 3 cannabis were recalled in 2016 and early 2017. The recall was due to possible contamination with unapproved sprays. Therefore, patients who purchased cannabis affected by a voluntary or involuntary recall prior to February 14, 2019 are considered class members. And class members will receive refunds as part of the $2.3 million settlement.

A timeline documenting the class action lawsuit against Organigram was included in a press release from Wagners, the company that filed the proposed class action lawsuit. While Organigram issued a separate press release on their website further documenting the settlement.

Non-Injury Refunds

Dawn Rae Downton, the deputy plaintiff, argued personal injury claims. However, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to recognize an adverse health event. To accommodate this, the Wagners amended their briefs to remove any personal injury claims. Plaintiffs filed the final amendment on January 18, 2022. However, Wagners didn’t announce the update until April 25, 2022.

After the change, the $2.3 million billing accounted for:

• Refunds
• legal fees
• administrative costs.

Patients were forced to remain content, even after claiming they were poisoned by Organigram’s tainted pot. The licensed producer admitted his wrongdoing. But refunds are enough action for the class members?

Rub the org chart under the Minister of Health’s skin

Organigram earned a repertoire for poisoning the general public, and not just the patients. And the myclobutanil-laced medical marijuana incident adds to her resume. The company began producing cannabinoids, whether from plants or yeast, in a new area of ​​its facility. In each case, cooling fans became clogged with infectious bacteria. The company collected Legionella, a bacterium that can spread several kilometers in the air, in a new cooling tower.

Organigram caused sixteen cases of Legionnaires’ disease in 2019. And fourteen separate cases against the company were dropped on the same day in December 2021. However, news of Organigram’s misconduct remained silent for three more months. In March and June of this year, the Secretary of Health for the Province of New Brunswick responded to this author’s email inquiries. But the second correspondence simply challenged the impact of the first, which focused on org charts.

Eight days after Shephard first responded to this author, a bill was proposed mandating mandatory testing of cooling towers in the province. And two days after the minister’s second response, a freedom of information request previously withheld from CBC was relayed to the state news agency. The inquiry, released on June 5, concerns two outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in the region. Further documented in the newly released information – first requested by CBC in August last year – was a lack of due process on behalf of Organigram.

Let us know in the comments if you think the settlement is fair.